NaNoWriMo

All posts tagged NaNoWriMo

November Again!

Posted by tmikemccurley on 2017-11-26
Posted in: Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , .

So it’s November again. Thanksgiving, the Macy’s Parade, the whole nine. It’s also NaNoWriMo time again, folks, and that means I’m ignoring people and a lot of other shit just so I can get down that elusive 1667 words a day.

Well, this year I did better. I actually clocked past the 50K mark on Thanksgiving day, with a belly full of delicious ham and mashed potatoes and stuffing and pie. The story I’m playing with, currently titled “In Stygian Night”, is coming along nicely. I broke the 54K mark on the 25th, and I intend to keep pushing the words every day just like I hadn’t quite made it to 50,000 yet (No, I am NOT counting this blog entry…).

Last year was a motherfucker. What with Pop dying October 23rd, and the ensuing funeral and the organizing and retrieving of his property, and then the grief and the stupidity that followed, I burned out a couple of days in. A week spent with my brothers helped out a lot with the thoughts and feelings portion of things, but the whole NaNo thing was a bust.

The strange part is, I’ve looked back on it more than once with blame and self-loathing in my heart and mind. I keep thinking to myself that this is when the “real writers” suck it the fuck up and keep putting words down on (digital) paper. When they soldier on, no matter the cost to mental health. I know it’s delusional to keep pushing that mantra on myself but it’s always been there, and it’s there every day that I don’t write, whether it’s because I’m sick, or busy with other things, or just don’t devote the time I should to a project because, let’s face it, I’m a lazy fucker. At least there, I’m right. The times when I feel lazy are the times when I should get off (or technically ON) my ass and write, but as established above, I’m a lazy fucker.

It’s taken me some time to come to terms with the way I’ve looked on the things that happened back then, and to see my part in them as being more of a grief reaction and busy schedule than any lack of desire to write. Well, okay, so some days I really just did NOT want to write anything. At all. Possibly ever again.

Camp NaNoWriMo in April, and again in June, helped me achieve a few things, and let me get some more Z262 fun scribbled down. Those events put me in a better frame of mind, and after the June event, I started looking seriously toward this November’s NaNo. I had fun through October writing charts about my characters and the spaceship they’re on, and the crew of that ship and how everyone was connected and then some basic plot work… And then November came and I started running with it.

It worked. It meshed. It came together the way words should. I’m not saying it’s polished, obviously. Hell, I ain’t even saying it doesn’t suck.

But I’m writing again. Sometimes more than others, but the words are coming.

Camp begins!

Posted by tmikemccurley on 2016-04-01
Posted in: Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , .

It’s April,, and that means a great many things to people. To me, it’s time for Camp NaNoWriMo!

A more relaxed and casual setting than the balls-out novel creation that is November’s NaNoWriMo, Camp is much more mellow. It is still a place to focus on your writing, and to create something new and exciting, but it also is more encouraging of interaction. Camp NaNo has “cabins”, virtual hangouts for up to a dozen authors in each to co-exist for the month. This allows people to chat and get to know one another, to learn about tricks others might have, and to encourage other writers in their efforts.

My cabin this year consists of some friends from former Camps (Hi, Gwendlyn! If you’re reading this, I’m waving!) and some folks that are part of a NaNo support group on Facebook (Hello to you all as well!). Phyl, Erin, and Lisa all conspired to keep me on my toes last November. The hourly sprints to add content they organized and took part in made NaNo infinitely more fun. Lisa is also a Pen and Cape Society member, as is Nick — our last current member. I am in great company, folks!

I decided that this year, I will focus on stories from Z262. You should start seeing them pop up from time to time, most often as soon as I have completed one and can quickly format it for the blog page. I am doing a quick read on each one to check spelling and the occasional bit of grammar, but I am not making these a polished third draft kind of thing. When Z262 tales drop, they’re a little raw, a little more organic than other things I might scribe, and some times that means they’re a bit sharper in tone. I should also note that the Z262 stories are a bit more ‘adult’ in tone than some of my other work. Frequent graphic language and violence pervades them, and sexual undertones can sometimes become overtones in short order. So, you know, trigger warnings and yep. Uh-huh.

Anyway, welcome to April, and happy camping to those of you who are taking part!

TMM

November update type stuff

Posted by tmikemccurley on 2015-11-07
Posted in: Story Work. Tagged: , , .

One week into the month.

16,707 words into “Phantoms of Phoenix”, the next in the Jericho Sims stories. First draft is *mostly* complete. There are a couple of sections that include <FIX THIS SHIT> notices in them that I will address before I even begin editing it, but for the most part it is done. Plus, I had the cover already set up for this bad boy, thanks to mdw_jason.

JerichoPhoenixKindlesized

Three possible stories to roll into next, and I’m trying to decide which one should be first up. Tentative titles exist, and the storyboards are pretty much rolled out on all three:

“Badge of Shadows” — A reunion with a soldier from Jericho’s past turns dark when a supernatural bill collector comes calling to cash in on the man’s debt.

“Oracle” — Jericho asks a seeress for information on the Surgeon, and she tells him about a conspiracy in which he will soon be embroiled. The only way he can find answers is to stop the plot, and the clock is already ticking.

“Devil’s Light” — A rancher asks Jericho for help dealing with cattle rustlers, but nighttime lights, strange sounds, and mutilated cattle found inside massive circles of dead grass soon leave him wondering exactly what it is he has stepped into.

 

National Novel Writing Month (AKA NaNoWriMo) is in full swing, and I’m right in the middle of it, along with a whole mess of my homies. The above Jericho Sims tales will make up the bulk of my NaNo effort this year. I want to get them all set up and ready to rock so that I can begin releasing them soon, so that everyone can enjoy spending time with Jericho as I have.